Madison, WI vs Denver, CO
Moving from Madison to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($452,769 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Madison vs Denver at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Madison, WI, you'd need about $110,251 in Denver, CO (+$10,251).
Livability — Madison, WI: 62 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,878 sqft in Madison vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($266 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Madison, WI | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,196 | $22,920 | +$2,724 |
| Groceries | $4,691 | $5,079 | +$388 |
| Transportation | $3,085 | $4,050 | +$965 |
| Utilities | $2,076 | $1,788 | −$288 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,800 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $15,162 | $9,828 | −$5,334 |
| Total | $46,510 | $46,464 | −$45 |
Side by side
| Metric | Madison, WI | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.9 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.42% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.46 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $452,769 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.7% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $266 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,683 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.9% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.43% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.65% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.75% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.2 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $42 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $85 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 320 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 8 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 34.6 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 48.7 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |